Charles Gitonga
BBC Africa business reporter, Nairobi

Image source, Getty Images

A court in Nairobi has ordered Kenya Airways pilots to report to work by 06:00 local time (03:00 GMT) on Wednesday and, for now, call off their strike, which is in its fourth day.

The pilots have been refusing to work in protest over the suspension of contributions to their retirement fund by Kenya Airways management.

The judge, Anna Ngubuini Mwaure, said that they should resume work until another court has ruled on whether or not the strike is legal - a case brought by the airline.

Justice Mwaure also ruled that “Kenya Airways should allow the pilots to perform duties without harassment or intimidation”.

The airline had earlier said that the strike was costing it $2.5m (£2.2m) in lost revenue every day.

League football returns to Namibia after a three-season hiatus, but there are fears the length of absence has harmed the game in the country.

Image source, Getty Images

Tens of thousands of people displaced by conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo are in urgent need of emergency aid.

The call comes from the international medical charity, Médecins Sans Frontières, which says informal camps surrounding the eastern city of Goma have seen a mass influx in recent days due to the continued violence between M23 rebels and the Congolese army.

The camps already host thousands of displaced people from previous rounds of fighting.

Overcrowding combined with heavy rainfall has increased the prevalence of water-borne diseases and respiratory infections in the camps.

Volunteers in Congo say the lack of food is of serious concern.

Read more on this story:

• DR Congo conflict: Why Kenyan troops are joining the battle

Jonathan Paye-Layleh
BBC News, Monrovia

An abrupt decision by the government of Liberia to cancel Tuesday's much-delayed national housing and population census has sparked public anger and confusion.

Constitutionally, the census should have been held in 2018, but it has been postponed at least six times by President George Weah's government.

Mr Weah - who left the country on 31 October for official travel and is expected to be away for at least a month - issued a last-minute proclamation on Tuesday declaring 11 November as the new official start date for the census.

By law, the outcome of the census should inform the electoral body on how to distribute electoral constituencies ahead of the general elections, the next one is set to be held in October 2023.

Meanwhile, some of the more than 70,000 people recruited and deployed as census enumerators across the country have staged protests demanding their stipends.

They were promised $5 (£3) a day, which many had complained the amount was very little, during their stay for pre-census training exercises.

On Monday, hundreds of them blocked roads in the second city of Buchanan.

Broadcasts on rural radio stations on Tuesday have been dominated by complaints from the enumerators about how they were being "unfairly" treated.

But officials at the Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo-Information Services, the body responsible for the conduct of the census, have blamed logistical challenges for the confusion and promised to pay the enumerators.

The UN rights chief urges Egypt to release Alaa Abdel Fattah, who stopped drinking water on Sunday.

Image source, AFP

Uganda will close all schools in two weeks' time following the deaths of eight pupils from the Ebola virus.

The first lady, Janet Museveni, who is also the education minister, said there had been 23 confirmed cases among schoolchildren.

A lockdown has been extended in the central districts of Mubende and Kassanda, the centre of the outbreak.

The World Health Organization says there have been more than 150 confirmed and probable cases since September, with 64 deaths.

It is the Sudan strain of the virus that is currently affecting Uganda against which there is no vaccine.

African teams need to have self-confidence to excel at the upcoming World Cup finals, says former Cameroon striker Roger Milla.

Image source, Facebook/Charles Nii Armah Mensah

One of Ghana’s biggest dancehall stars, Shatta Wale, is being sued for defamation by his former manager Lawrence Nana Asiamah Hanson, popularly known as Bulldog, according to newly released court papers circulating in the local press.

Last Wednesday, the musician levelled an accusation on social media against Bulldog, implying that he was involved in the 2014 murder of Fennec Okyere, manager of hiplife artist Kwaw Kwese. Bulldog denies the accusation and says it is libellous, the court papers say.

A feud has been brewing since Shatta Wale left Bulldog’s management company, Bullhaus Entertainment, earlier this year.

Last week’s social media accusation prompted the Ghana Police Service to release a statement saying they were talking to Shatta Wale and he was "cooperating on the matter".

Court documents circulating in Ghana’s press show that the suit was filed on Monday with Bulldog requesting an unspecified amount of damages.

Shatta Wale's international profile was boosted in 2019 by a collaboration with Beyoncé on her Grammy-nominated Lion King: The Gift album.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

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Ethiopia's federal forces and rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) fighters have begun taking conciliatory actions at the warfront as disarmament talks between their commanders continue in Kenya.

Redwan Hussein, the security adviser to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, told the US-based Ethiopian Media Services (EMS TV) on Tuesday that TPLF combatants were now approaching federal troops at the warfront for food and cigarettes.

"They eat food, get cigarettes, pose for photos and jointly bury the dead. In fact, they [TPLF delegates] are telling us that they have videos showing all that and we will have them," said Mr Redwan, who is also attending the talks in Nairobi.

Mr Redwan said soldiers were keen on the peace process because they do not enjoy "killing and dying".

"They want to save their lives and help their parents. The problem is politics and once political problems are solved, everything else is back to normal," added Mr Redwan.

Ethiopia's army chief Field Marshal Birhanu Jula and TPLF commander Tadese Werede are in Nairobi to discuss a plan for the disarmament of the TPLF and rehabilitation of its combatants as stipulated by the peace agreement signed in South Africa on 2 November.

On Monday, TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda said they had had to make concessions for the sake of peace.

"Everything we do, every move we make, or every agreement we sign is driven by the need to ensure the interest of the people of Tigray. Peace is what our people need more than anything. Whether we will deliver on our promise in a manner that satisfies our people time will tell," he tweeted.

Peter Okwoche
BBC Focus on Africa TV

Image source, Dr Hage G. Geingob/ Twitter

The Namibian President Hage Geingob has accused wealthy nations of not being honest when talking about the fight against climate change.

Speaking to the BBC at a side event at the ongoing COP27 meeting in Egypt, President Geingob said wealthier countries, who he blamed for the current crisis, had turned climate conferences into talking shops.

He went on to describe the world's largest polluters as "criminals" and the world's poorer nations as their "victims".

Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera also had a harsh message for richer nations.

Speaking at the conference, Mr Chakwera said that wealthier countries should take on more responsibility in fighting climate change.

"We are all equal in value before God, but our obligations, our capacities, our opportunities and our offences vary.

"So as Malawi, we believe that the clear difference in the culpability and capacity between developed nations must be reflected in the level of responsibility they bear for climate mitigation, adaptation and financing," he said.

Alfred Lasteck
BBC News, Dar es Salaam

Tanzania's government is being criticised for its lack of disaster preparedness just two days after 19 people died in a passenger aircraft accident.

Tanzania's leading newspapers are demanding accountability for the failures in emergency response in the aftermath of the Precision Air plane crash into Lake Victoria near the Bukoba airport on Sunday.

The Citizen newspaper said the disaster had exposed government failure.

Aviation experts, activists and social media users have also criticised the government for not taking responsibility for its failure to adequately handle disasters.

"I hope the authorities have seen what happened. If we couldn’t conduct an effective rescue mission in a small aircraft like that one, what would we do if it were a much bigger plane?" Captain Khalil Iqbal, the secretary-general of the Professional Association of Tanzania Pilots, told local media.

Disaster expert James Mbatia, who is also a former MP, told the BBC that "it was possible to rescue all passengers, but it is surprising that the scene was full of fishermen and there were no disaster vessels".

"This is a shame."

"We have the same technology, that was used in 1996... which brings lots of questions," Mr Mbatia said.

On social media, some say accountability should be part of Tanzanian culture and people should be held responsible for the plane accident and the inadequate rescue operations.

Tanzania’s Defence Minister Innocent Bashungwa has said the government will address the concerns raised to improve rescue operation systems and better handle disasters.

"Whatever situation we are in, good or bad, it provides an opportunity to learn and in this tragedy of the plane crash, we have heard people's opinions on how we need to organise ourselves better,” he said.

He added that the government would review the budget set aside for disasters and ensure the availability of proper rescue equipment.

Meanwhile, a video showing a crane retrieving the crashed aircraft from the lake has been shared online:

A Kenyan nursing student has won plaudits after she was filmed cheering up a hospitalised child with dance moves to the catchy tune of Baby Shark children’s song.

In the video, the child happily nods and follows the nurse's moves.

The paediatric nurse has been identified as Elizabeth Robai Lukelesia from Kenya Medical Training institute (KMTC) in the western town of Kitale.

The region's Governor George Natembeya said he was "fascinated by the sensational moments".

He added: "Good work Elizabeth, dedication in service delivery is our guiding principle."

Alfred Lasteck
BBC News, Dar es Salaam

A team of technical advisers from the Franco-Italian aircraft manufacture, ATR, is on its way to Tanzania to investigate why one of its plane crashed into Lake Victoria as it attempted to land in the lakeside town of Bukoba on Sunday, the Reuters news agency reports.

The passenger plane operated by Precision Air had 43 people on board - at least 19 died in the crash.

Tanzanian authorities said investigations were under way and the findings would be made public.

Transport Minister, Makame Mbarawa told mourners on Monday that the weather had abruptly changed as the plane approached the airport.

The plane had departed the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam.

Director, Ryan Coogler, says that “it’s as significant as it gets" to have an official premiere in a major African city.

The FBI says ex-social media star Hushpuppi is one of the world's most high-profile money launderers.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, AFP

The United Nations has welcomed the release of 21 teenagers - most of them girls - abducted by gunmen in the north-western state of Katsina.

The victims were working on a farm when they were seized by armed kidnappers last week in Faskari area.

In a statement, the UN children’s agency, Unicef, says the news of their release is "pleasant".

But it adds that the children shouldn’t have been kidnapped in the first place, saying "no one, especially children should be a target of abduction or violence of any kind".

The UN agency has offered to support the Katsina state government to rehabilitate the freed hostages.

State police spokesperson Gambo Isa told the BBC the victims were aged 15 to 18. Seventeen of them were females.

He declined to say whether a ransom was paid but added that the underage farm workers were targeted after the farm owner refused to pay a levy imposed on farmers by gangs.

The Nigerian authorities have been struggling to tackle the country’s widespread insecurity with armed gangs kidnapping people for ransom. Schoolchildren have been frequently targeted in the past.

Nigeria is due to hold presidential elections in February and the insecurity is one of the key issues dominating the campaigns.

Beverly Ochieng
BBC Monitoring

Image source, AFP

The Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) has dismissed reports of an imminent fall of the north-eastern Menaka region to militants from the Islamic State (IS) group, whose presence there has increased since French forces left the country in August.

“This is not true. These are falsehoods, attempts at propaganda, attempts to destabilise the Malian armed forces... Menaka is not under siege, less still Tessit or Ansongo [in neighbouring Gao region],” FAMa’s public relations director-general Col Souleymane Dembele said in a briefing on Monday.

He also said the army has been frequently patrolling the region.

The remarks coincide with plans by leading trade unions in Gao to begin a two-day strike today to protest against the military government’s apparent inaction against growing Islamist militant attacks.

This is worsened by nearly daily reports of kidnappings, armed robberies and livestock theft by criminal gangs that move between the volatile borderlands.

Reports emerged on Monday of an audio message purportedly belonging to the leader of a prominent pro-government militia – the Self-Defence Group of Imghad Tuaregs and Their Allies (Gatia) – urging members of the Tuareg community in Mali and neighbouring countries to take up arms against the IS.

Tuareg militia have been at the frontline of fighting against the IS, which has been accused of massacring hundreds of civilians in Menaka since March.

Late last month, deadly clashes between fighters from IS and rivals from al-Qaeda’s Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) erupted over the control of Menaka, forcing thousands of residents to flee.

Although the army has been receiving support from Russian mercenaries who arrived in December, French troops' hasty departure upended nearly a decade of efforts to stabilise the Sahel nation.

Since the insurgency broke out in 2012, Malian authorities have lost control of vast parts of the country.

Medwen Edwards lives in north Wales with partner Lamin Touray, who is from The Gambia.

Ivory Coast's football legend Didier Drogba has denied claims of converting to Islam after he was pictured praying with a Muslim cleric.

The cleric published the picture and reportedly announced that the former Chelsea striker had become a Muslim.

But in a tweet on Monday evening, Drogba clarified that he was "just paying respect to my Muslim brothers" while visiting his village.

He described it as "a moment of togetherness".

The cleric Mohamed Salah later deleted the post and said Drogba had not embraced Islam, but he will still pray for his conversion.

Drogba played more than 100 times for Ivory Coast, including at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. He became the country's all-time top scorer before retiring in 2018.

Lalla Sy
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Burkina Faso's military ruler Ibrahim Traoré has paid a visit to frontline troops in the northern town of Djibo where a military camp was attacked by Islamists militants a fortnight ago.

The town of about 300,000 residents has been under attack for months by armed militants. Food is also getting scarce following a prolonged drought.

Captain Traoré visited the soldiers on Saturday to comfort and encourage them, according to a statement by the presidency that was released on Monday.

He acknowledged that there were dysfunctions that must be corrected for greater efficiency on the northern front, the statement added.

He promised many of them would be allowed to go home and added that more intelligence and support would be available.

At least 10 soldiers were killed and over 50 others wounded in the 24 October attack at a military camp in the town - one of the deadliest on the armed forces since Mr Traoré rose to power in a coup.

Earlier in September, 27 soldiers were killed in Gaskindé while escorting a convoy of supplies headed to Djibo town.

Captain Traoré overthrew his former comrade, Lt Col Paul-Henri Damiba on 30 September, after accusing him of failing to fulfil his promise of quelling the Islamist insurgency that has gripped Burkina Faso since 2015.

More on this topic:

• Capt Ibrahim Traoré: Burkina Faso's new military ruler